LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ) Short Interest Up 20.4% in December

LKQ Corporation (NASDAQ:LKQ) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 14,517,439 shares, a growth of 20.4% from the December 15th total of 12,055,295 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 8,413,133 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days. Currently, 5.7% of the company’s stock are sold short. Currently, 5.7% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 8,413,133 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On LKQ

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. New South Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in LKQ by 0.7% during the third quarter. New South Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,313,761 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $40,122,000 after purchasing an additional 8,981 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of LKQ by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 909,710 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $27,783,000 after buying an additional 10,616 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC grew its stake in LKQ by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 536,345 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $16,380,000 after buying an additional 31,042 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in LKQ by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 535,387 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $19,815,000 after acquiring an additional 23,835 shares during the period. Finally, Thompson Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in LKQ by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. now owns 374,299 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $11,304,000 after acquiring an additional 46,052 shares during the period. 95.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

LKQ Stock Performance

Shares of LKQ opened at $32.70 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s fifty day moving average is $30.62 and its 200-day moving average is $31.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. LKQ has a 12 month low of $28.13 and a 12 month high of $44.82.

LKQ (NASDAQ:LKQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The auto parts company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $3.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. LKQ had a net margin of 4.99% and a return on equity of 13.45%. LKQ’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. LKQ has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.000-3.150 EPS. Equities analysts expect that LKQ will post 3.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

LKQ Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 20th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 20th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. LKQ’s dividend payout ratio is currently 44.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on LKQ shares. Zacks Research upgraded LKQ from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of LKQ in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $39.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of LKQ from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 10th. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $43.00 target price (down previously from $46.00) on shares of LKQ in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of LKQ in a report on Monday, December 29th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $44.33.

LKQ Company Profile

LKQ Corporation is a leading provider of alternative and specialty parts to repair and accessorize automobiles and other vehicles. The company supplies a broad range of replacement components, including recycled original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts, aftermarket parts, refurbished and remanufactured items. Its products support collision repair, mechanical repair and performance enhancement needs across passenger cars, heavy trucks and recreational vehicles.

Through a combination of in-house operations and strategic acquisitions, LKQ has developed a comprehensive product portfolio that extends beyond core replacement parts.